The Gift
by jmd0820
Summary: Summary: One shot inspired by the song "If We Were Vampires" by Jason Isbell. No real summary. Just read it. It's short:)


**The Gift**

This is a one shot inspired by the song "If We Were Vampires" by Jason Isbell. If you haven't heard it, you should. Just something short. Apologies for any errors. They're all mine.

"Are you okay?"

It seemed like a dumb question, but he didn't know what else to say. He had heard the news bulletin earlier in the day and anticipated the dark mood she came home in. Walt was sitting on the couch with a book propped in her lap when he heard her truck pull in. She was late, of course. He expected that. He waited for the familiar sound of her getting out and closing her door a bit too hard as she tended to do. Instead, he was met with silence.

After a few minutes, the silence became too loud. Tossing his book on the coffee table, he stood up and pulled on his boots. Opening the front door, Walt walked out slowly, his boots scuffling across the well-worn planks of the porch. He paused, his eyes looking across the yard. It was the time of day when the sun is setting and everything looks ethereal by the sun's low beams. He could see her just sitting in her truck, looking down.

Walt walked down the stairs and across the driveway to where her truck sat, the engine off. The hood still emitted warmth from the engine. Walt gave the passenger door handle a pull and it opened. She didn't react when he slid into the seat beside her and pulled the door closed. For a few minutes, he merely took her in. Vic still sat in the driver's seat, her seatbelt undone. The weather was warm and she wore no jacket. Just her jeans, uniform shirt, and a tank top underneath the way she always did in the summer. Her hands were in her lap and her eyes were downcast.

Here, they still sat, his question still hanging in the quiet air between them. She still hadn't looked up. Walt reached one hand out slowly and touched her shoulder. Vic blinked and seem to just notice him sitting there. Slowly, shook her head no. He withdrew his hand.

"Vic."

Her name came out as a whisper, as though he were afraid of disturbing the quiet that surrounded them. She finally lifted her face, her eyes focusing on the windshield.

"I just needed a minute."

Her words lacked the usual spirit he loved so much in her. Walt nodded in response and sat there quietly, giving her whatever space she needed to process her thoughts. It seemed like an eternity eked by. In reality, it was less than five minutes. Then, she inhaled deeply, her chest moving visibly and turned her head. Her eyes sought and found his. The dullness in the gold coloration made him feel sad. He hated to see her like this.

"I'm sorry."

Walt offered her a smile.

"Nothing to be sorry for."

He pulled the door handle and got out of the truck. Walking around to the driver's side, he opened her door.

"C'mon, Vic. Come inside. It's getting dark."

She nodded and slid from behind the wheel. Walt took her hand and they walked inside. All of her movements felt like slow motion, but Walt was a patient man. Inside, he dropped her hand and faced her. For the first time, he noticed the blood spatter across the bottom part of her shirt.

Without a word, he unbuttoned it. Vic's arms hung loosely at her side as he pushed the shirt off of her shoulders. Not giving it more than a glance, he tossed it aside.

"Why don't you get a shower?"

She nodded and started to move by him to the bathroom. Walt caught her arm.

"You hungry? Want me to make you something?"

She just shook her head.

"No. I couldn't eat right now."

He nodded, understanding the feeling. Hunger would come later. While Vic disappeared into the bathroom, he grabbed her shirt and looked down at the blood. He was thankful that it wasn't hers, but it was still the life of someone else slipping away. And Walt knew all too well how helpless watching that with little to do could make a person feel.

He shoved the shirt into the trash. The blood would most likely not come out. There was no sense in leaving it lying around to trigger a reaction later.

Vic surprised him by returning relatively fast. He had expected her to linger in the shower. But, she came back into the living room dressed in one of his t-shirts and a pair of yoga pants. Her hair was wet and she smelled of the soap and shampoo he now associated solely with Vic. The smell was vaguely coconut with a little vanilla in the background.

Walt waited until she took a seat on the couch before he joined.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Vic shook her head. Pulling her legs up and curling them under her, she pressed herself into his side. Walt let her find a comfortable position before he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in. She moved again and then settled fully into him.

He couldn't have said how many minutes the clock ticked out while they sat just that way. Neither of them moved. And neither spoke. They simply were. Anything he wanted to express, he pushed aside. This was her darkness. And he would give her whatever she needed from him. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Finally, he felt her move. She sniffled and turned her face into his chest. He felt her inhale and then she sat up, separating herself from him a bit. She cleared her throat and looked at him.

"When we were in the house, there were all these pictures of them together. They looked happy. You know? How…how can you say that you love someone and then…do something like that?"

It was one of the world's oldest questions. And one for which he had no answer. So, he told her the truth just like he always did.

"I don't know."

She sighed. Her eyes were focused now and she seemed more present. He knew it would happen, it just needed time. Time and space. Vic just shook her head.

"The call came in as a domestic violence all from one of the neighbors. You know, we get that shit all the time. And, it's usually so mundane. Or, at least, not violent. Just people pissed off at each other. I…we didn't expect to find her like that."

Walt swallowed.

"Who went with you?"

"Ferg."

She was quiet and he could see her replaying something in her mind. She reached up and rubbed her face.

"Walt, he had beaten her within an inch of her life. There…there was blood everywhere. And she was still conscious. And this…this asshole is just standing there crying, like he's not the one who did it. Like she was in an accident or something. Ferg arrested him and called for an ambulance. I sat with her while we waited, but I couldn't do much other than talk to her. Ferg took the guy and booked him. I went to the hospital. Weston came out and told me she didn't make it. Her head injuries were just…too severe."

She stopped talking and averted her eyes.

"And then this guy comes in asking all these questions and I'm trying to figure out who he is. Come to find out, she was in the middle of a divorce from her husband. And she has this new guy. And…I had to tell him that she was gone."

She paused again, wiping at a tear.

"And he just…lost it. I've never seen a man cry like that. I mean…he loved her. He really loved her. They were planning a life together. A future. And…all that's gone now. They…never really got a chance. It was taken from this just like that. Boom. Game over."

She shook her head at the thought.

"And you know me…right to all the 'what-ifs'.

Walt sighed.

"Vic, you'll drive yourself crazy with that."

She nodded.

"I know. But…we were lucky enough to get our second chance. Both of us. And I…just cannot imagine being without you now. But…one day…"

She looked away.

"Vic, that could be tomorrow or thirty years from now. Either way, you're right about one thing. We got our second chance. And we made the most of it. We are making the most of it. Time is a gift and you never know when time is up."

She was crying quietly, slowly tears sliding down her face.

"I know. And it's stupid."

Walt shook his head at her.

"It's not stupid."

She smiled then, through the tears.

"The rest of the day, I just…wanted to come home. And see you. But, Ferg left early so…I was stuck."

"He okay?"

Vic shrugged.

"We were both pretty rattled. But…he just got married so…I get it."

She lay her head again his chest, her ear over his heart.

"I love you."

The words were quiet, but he heard them. Walt pressed his lips against her hair.

"I love you, too. More than anything. And…I don't plan to stop antytime soon."

He heard what almost sounded like a quiet laugh. Vic lifted her head and swiped at her eyes again. Walt tilted his head at her.

"Hungry yet?"

She smiled a little.

"I'm getting there."

"How about breakfast for dinner?"

"Sounds good. I uh…I took tomorrow off. I need…"

Her words faded out before she finished the thought. Walt nodded. Whatever plans he might have had the next day would wait. Could wait. Vic disentangled herself from him and stood.

"C'mon. I'll help you with dinner. Pancakes? Eggs?"

Walt stood up, pulling her into his side.

"Why not both?"

~End

_If we were vampires and death was a joke  
We'd go out on the sidewalk and smoke  
And laugh at all the lovers and their plans  
I wouldn't feel the need to hold your hand  
Maybe time running out is a gift  
I'll work hard 'til the end of my shift  
And give you every second I can find  
And hope it isn't me who's left behind_

_It's knowing that this can't go on forever  
Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone  
Maybe we'll get forty years together  
But one day I'll be gone  
Or one day you'll be gone_

_If We Were Vampires ~ Jason Isbell_


End file.
